How did you know to start a business?

[MrManual]

I really want to start a business, I've started one before with a friend ( hardly made any money) looking back the business had flaws but I learnt so much and really enjoyed the graft. Coming home from work and seeing an online sale just before bedtime and getting it ready for the next morning. Unfortunately that business ended.

I would love to start another business on my own this time, but I have no idea what in. I've tried looking into an online pharmacy as I'm a pharmacist but the numbers do not add up at all. Was thinking of doing something online again as the set up costs aren't as much.

So I guess the question is how did you decide to start your business? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

[E63eeeeee...]

HMRC and my client ganged up on me and made me do it.

Sorry, nothing helpful to offer, but I think this will be interesting so I'm in.

[MrManual]

mattybrown said:

Always on my bucket list…
Had a very good career, golden handcuffs by my employer. I got fed up and went to see a recruitment consultant.

She told me two things.
1. I am probably unemployable
2. There are three types of people. 1. Those who are quite happy working for others. 2. Those who start their own businesses. 3. Those who say they are going to start their own business but never do.

I was close to being no.3 That was 13 years ago. I walked out of a very well paid job with a young family and big mortgage. I now employ 40 people. Whatever you do, you need to be in for the long haul. Find something you enjoy. Plan and ride the ups and the downs if you go alone find a coach or a mentor to help you. Don’t be distracted by peers who have never done it themselves. There are a lot of bullstters out there.

The first few years can be slow we probably only went from 20 to 40 people in the last 4 years.

Edited by mattybrown on Saturday 8th April 15:49

I am not bothered much by my peers anymore, none of my colleagues or friends are interested in starting a business as they are very risk averse. Funny thing is most of them don't have a mortgage or kids, so they could quite easily start some kind of business.

[Chipstick]

Lately I’ve been tempted to give it a go but I do fear I’ll forever put off making that move and getting on with it. I fancy a bit of e-commerce, so really should just peddle some items on eBay etc first and see what happens.

[NNH]

Chipstick said:

Lately I’ve been tempted to give it a go but I do fear I’ll forever put off making that move and getting on with it. I fancy a bit of e-commerce, so really should just peddle some items on eBay etc first and see what happens.

There's a lot to be said for this. You might not make much money but it'll let you find out if you can stand stroppy customers and endless paperwork. If it doesn't drive you up the wall, you're ready to go into business

[jammy-git]

The company I was working for went pop, starting doing some freelance web dev work, got more and more work and projects and eventually enough that I thought that 1) I wanted to be protected under a limited company and 2) I needed to start thinking about employees.

[Simpo Two]

MrManual said:

So I guess the question is how did you decide to start your business? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I'd been made redundant and had spent six months looking for a relevant job without success. Suddenly one evening I had a brilliant idea, based on something I knew well and enjoyed doing. Then it was a case of adding/refining details, getting it all ready to go, waiting for one last interview result to come back negative, then launching it.

As I was unemployed I had nothing to lose. Leaving a decent job to gamble on something is another matter.

If you do go for it, please try to do something more imaginative than reselling tat on eBay. Create something.

[lizardbrain]

I think it’s partly character driven. Pretty much every job I’ve ever had I spent at least 50% of my time at work looking for opportunities for businesses.

Doing normal jobs is actually a great way to research ideas as see where you could add value, how procurement works and what’s inefficient etc.

Even if you don’t have many actual skills, if you have this attitude combined with persistence it’s only a matter of time

[Hoofy]

I got fed up of working for someone else doing something I didn't enjoy and felt was unfulfilling. Had enough cash in the bank to either drop it on a new Ferrari or drop it on a business idea. I guess either would have been fun but the second option is more satisfying and doesn't make me want to bury my head under the duvet every Monday morning.

mattybrown said:

2. There are three types of people. 1. Those who are quite happy working for others. 2. Those who start their own businesses. 3. Those who say they are going to start their own business but never do.

The term I use for (3) is "wantrepreneur."

They need to work out why they really just haven't got started because anyone who really wants to start a business will have started doing something on the side or at least planned it out or done market research (if it's something that requires you to give up a full time job eg starting a restaurant) and not just go about telling everyone they want to start a business. (That's not a dig at the OPer as he's stated he's already tried a business. I just see some people who go for YEARS telling me they want to start a business and having done absolutely nothing apart from tell me every time we meet in a pub or whatever that they want to start a business.)

Simpo Two said:

MrManual said:

So I guess the question is how did you decide to start your business? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

I'd been made redundant and had spent six months looking for a relevant job without success. Suddenly one evening I had a brilliant idea, based on something I knew well and enjoyed doing. Then it was a case of adding/refining details, getting it all ready to go, waiting for one last interview result to come back negative, then launching it.

As I was unemployed I had nothing to lose. Leaving a decent job to gamble on something is another matter.

If you do go for it, please try to do something more imaginative than reselling tat on eBay. Create something.

What he said.

OPer, if you PM me, I can send you a link on how I developed a consultancy idea. It's on my own website so I don't want to break forum rules.

[StevieBee]

MrManual said:

I would love to start another business on my own this time, but I have no idea what in.

In my experience (personally and learned from others), knowing what it is you will do is what drives you to start a business in the first place. There will be exceptions but in the main, people start a business doing something that they were previously employed to do. They know the product or service and have networks already in place.

For the first few years, owning a business is more like owning a job, but with less pay and more responsibility. So starting a business in something you know nothing about means you're on the back-foot right from the off.

[Simpo Two]

StevieBee said:

There will be exceptions but in the main, people start a business doing something that they were previously employed to do. They know the product or service and have networks already in place.

Absolutely. I knew what I was doing and how to do it, had former clients to contact, a supplier network and a USP. Even then it was a few months before any money came in - and that was only £324. I have a photocopy of the cheque somewhere!

[Paul Dishman]

MrManual said:

I really want to start a business, I've started one before with a friend ( hardly made any money) looking back the business had flaws but I learnt so much and really enjoyed the graft. Coming home from work and seeing an online sale just before bedtime and getting it ready for the next morning. Unfortunately that business ended.

I would love to start another business on my own this time, but I have no idea what in. I've tried looking into an online pharmacy as I'm a pharmacist but the numbers do not add up at all. Was thinking of doing something online again as the set up costs aren't as much.

So I guess the question is how did you decide to start your business? Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks

Buying a pharmacy?
You could do as I did-I worked for an independent pharmacy whose owners wanted out so I got first refusal.
Or finding a small one and build it up. Have you looked at the agency websites?

[iphonedyou]

StevieBee said:

In my experience (personally and learned from others), knowing what it is you will do is what drives you to start a business in the first place. There will be exceptions but in the main, people start a business doing something that they were previously employed to do. They know the product or service and have networks already in place.

For the first few years, owning a business is more like owning a job, but with less pay and more responsibility. So starting a business in something you know nothing about means you're on the back-foot right from the off.

Pretty much this. It's generally arse about face to think of the business and then the idea. Most of the time you're good at something, so you start a business and do it better (or cheaper) and then, eventually, you make a few quid out of it.

[MrManual]

Hoofy said:

What he said.

OPer, if you PM me, I can send you a link on how I developed a consultancy idea. It's on my own website so I don't want to break forum rules.

I would really appreciate that, I will PM you in a bit.

[MrManual]

Paul Dishman said:

Buying a pharmacy?
You could do as I did-I worked for an independent pharmacy whose owners wanted out so I got first refusal.
Or finding a small one and build it up. Have you looked at the agency websites?

I have spoken with previous owners and current owners and they have all said that it's not worth it. Two owners told me they sold up because they made more doing locum work than keeping their pharmacy open for the day. Unfortunately the golden days of pharmacy have long gone. Unless I have been wrongly informed?

I just can't get my head around an essential service such as providing medication which every city/town/village in the UK needs isn't making a decent profit, it's bizarre.

[Paul Dishman]

MrManual said:

Paul Dishman said:

Buying a pharmacy?
You could do as I did-I worked for an independent pharmacy whose owners wanted out so I got first refusal.
Or finding a small one and build it up. Have you looked at the agency websites?

I have spoken with previous owners and current owners and they have all said that it's not worth it. Two owners told me they sold up because they made more doing locum work than keeping their pharmacy open for the day. Unfortunately the golden days of pharmacy have long gone. Unless I have been wrongly informed?

I just can't get my head around an essential service such as providing medication which every city/town/village in the UK needs isn't making a decent profit, it's bizarre.

I was told pretty much the same story when I started on my own in the 80s. There's no doubt that conditions are really challenging at the moment, but businesses are being bought and sold rapidly at the present time. All the Lloyds shops locally have been bought up by independents, I know they've pulled out of Sainsbury's but most of those were 100 hour contracts and weren't viable.

I think a suitable pharmacy business is still a going proposition, especially if you bring in services such as flu and covid jabs and look to starting up whatever minor ailment schemes that the NHS will want to bring in.

[HoHoHo]

Hi

I don't post on here very often now however I can contribute my 2p worth, warts and all if it's of any interest:

In 1996 I was a sales manager for a large offset printing company and saw technology that was new and could allow very large images to be printed in one piece top be used at exhibitions. I started a company with a good friend who was also in the printing industry and our company was born. I knew nothing about the product in detail or the industry, it was all new to me.

We had no idea how big the market was, but knew it was probably quite a good idea and we hoped we could sell large prints to those who needed them. Before I handed my notice in, some months prior I purchased a mobile phone exactly the same model as the one the company I worked for had given me. That enabled me to communicate during the day with potential new suppliers, clients and my partner and nobody was any the wiser. I was in fact in one meeting with my then MD and my phone rang - I took the call and he thought is was for one of his clients.............little did he know!

At the end of 1996 I decided that was the moment, and I made some radical changes to my life - I left my very unhappy marriage (leaving 3 small children behind at home, albeit to this day we have never lost contact, they came first etc etc), I handed in my notice and early January 1997 I found myself on gardening leave, in a grotty bedsit and my new life had started.

Sadly due to a number of factors out of my control, by the end of April 1997 I handed my notice in and started my own company in the same industry by myself. Large Format Printing was taking off and I was in the thick of it.

Not sure if I can name my company simply for reference (probably in my bio somewhere), we have now been trading for 26 years this May 1st.

So, how did I do it?

In April 1996 I was living in a bedsit with some friends including my (now) wife. I had great mental support and would sit in the evening making lists of companies to call the next day. Whilst they were all at work I would be on the phone calling everyone I could asking if I could quote for their business. I still really had no idea what I was talking about but I was 33, keen, financially broke, 3 children and en ex-wife to support living in my ex-£250,000 house and frankly life couldn't get any worse.

I did my best to ensure my tiny little nothing of a company looked as big as it could. I purchased a domain name, had a website built (by myself) and simply lied, and lied and lied. I had a list of potential suppliers lined up and had everything in place. I still have my original order book and month one I think I tuned over £8000 with a modest profit.

First year's T/O was £167,000 and it grew over the next 9 to just over £1.2m/annum - however the net margin was huge at around 46%. Bear in mind I was essentially a one-man band and I was having a good time!

One memory of working smart, my business was in the exhibition industry and I was selling roller banners and pop-up display systems by the dozen. I decided to have some bar codes printed to apply to each product that went out. They had our name, phone number etc and of course a barcode. I bought the most expensive sticky bar code labels money could buy. To be honest most of the clients left them on because they thought they were there for a reason. They were for a reason - potential clients would see our product and look and see who supplied it. What my clients didn't know was that I purchased thousands of labels with the same barcode on As a result of this canny little trick I won, Marks & Spencer, HSBC and Waitrose who became huge clients - all for the sake of a label worth 3/5ths of FA!

In 2008 we had a recession and in three months I lost my three largest clients and that removed 60% of our turnover literally overnight. That reminded me of the 80/20 rule - never have 80% of your business from 20% of your clients!

I didn't worry, I simply got up off the floor, dusted myself down and looked at new products and found a great modular system I could sell to design and build exhibition stands.

We became one of the countries first design and build companies to use a modular system and business went bonkers again. I had by this time a sales team, admin team, accountant and my wife working with me.

Life was great and then COVID hit and literally overnight my business was shut down. Whilst my staff were being paid furlough, my wife and I got virtually nothing so I started another business. I used the vans we had and started a logistics business which with other lucky breaks added £250,000 from nothing into the bank during Covid.

Also during Covid I wanted a gadget for my bike so I taught myself 3D modelling, bought a printer and designed the light holder and away I went. All of the local shops couldn't believe I had invented something that solved such a simple problem and I thought f-it, I'll have a go on eBay. I then introduced holders for AirTags and alike and that business now sells around the world everyday. I can't name it, but it's out there. To date I've sold best part of 10,000 individual 3D printed bits to virtually every country and I'm still staggered how it happened.

My main business came back after Covid and thankfully we survived. This year we are looking to have our best ever, I'll be honest during the dark days of lockdown I was depressed and thought my world was coming to an end (which is one reason I had to leave PH). I network well, we are exhibiting our 3D products again at the largest bike show in the UK next week (last year we were voted in the top 5 products at the show) and as a result of having a stand at that show and making good friends with the organisers we are also building a number at that show at that same time.

A long story, I'm sorry it went on for so long, can I say why I started my business? Not really, everything was against me and I just thought, let's give it a go!

My recipe for success could be down to:

Hard work
Never believing anything other than I would be OK
Hard work
Living and breathing work
Hard work
Make mistakes and learn from them
Hard work
Working smart
Hard work
Networking
Hard work
Being organised
Hard work

And probably a bit of luck here and there.

I wish you the best for the future.

Edited to add and whatever you do:

Look at your competitors, see what they are doing and don’t be afraid to copy but do it better
Do the job to the best of your abilities, aim to be the best every time
Respond to customers and clients as quickly as possible - it’s not uncommon I speak by email to people at 4am sometimes!
Work smart, anyone can be a busy fool
Don’t expect the earth, fast cars and a big house immediately, if it’s going to happen it will take time and effort

Finally, the amount of good luck and success you have is generally directly proportional to the effort made

Edited by HoHoHo on Thursday 13th April 14:48

Edited by HoHoHo on Thursday 13th April 14:57

[RiseUp]

HoHoHo said:

Hi

I don't post on here very often now however I can contribute my 2p worth, warts and all if it's of any interest:

In 1996 I was a sales manager for a large offset printing company and saw technology that was new and could allow very large images to be printed in one piece top be used at exhibitions. I started a company with a good friend who was also in the printing industry and our company was born. I knew nothing about the product in detail or the industry, it was all new to me.

We had no idea how big the market was, but knew it was probably quite a good idea and we hoped we could sell large prints to those who needed them. Before I handed my notice in, some months prior I purchased a mobile phone exactly the same model as the one the company I worked for had given me. That enabled me to communicate during the day with potential new suppliers, clients and my partner and nobody was any the wiser. I was in fact in one meeting with my then MD and my phone rang - I took the call and he thought is was for one of his clients.............little did he know!

At the end of 1996 I decided that was the moment, and I made some radical changes to my life - I left my very unhappy marriage (leaving 3 small children behind at home, albeit to this day we have never lost contact, they came first etc etc), I handed in my notice and early January 1997 I found myself on gardening leave, in a grotty bedsit and my new life had started.

Sadly due to a number of factors out of my control, by the end of April 1997 I handed my notice in and started my own company in the same industry by myself. Large Format Printing was taking off and I was in the thick of it.

Not sure if I can name my company simply for reference (probably in my bio somewhere), we have now been trading for 26 years this May 1st.

So, how did I do it?

In April 1996 I was living in a bedsit with some friends including my (now) wife. I had great mental support and would sit in the evening making lists of companies to call the next day. Whilst they were all at work I would be on the phone calling everyone I could asking if I could quote for their business. I still really had no idea what I was talking about but I was 33, keen, financially broke, 3 children and en ex-wife to support living in my ex-£250,000 house and frankly life couldn't get any worse.

I did my best to ensure my tiny little nothing of a company looked as big as it could. I purchased a domain name, had a website built (by myself) and simply lied, and lied and lied. I had a list of potential suppliers lined up and had everything in place. I still have my original order book and month one I think I tuned over £8000 with a modest profit.

First year's T/O was £167,000 and it grew over the next 9 to just over £1.2m/annum - however the net margin was huge at around 46%. Bear in mind I was essentially a one-man band and I was having a good time!

One memory of working smart, my business was in the exhibition industry and I was selling roller banners and pop-up display systems by the dozen. I decided to have some bar codes printed to apply to each product that went out. They had our name, phone number etc and of course a barcode. I bought the most expensive sticky bar code labels money could buy. To be honest most of the clients left them on because they thought they were there for a reason. They were for a reason - potential clients would see our product and look and see who supplied it. What my clients didn't know was that I purchased thousands of labels with the same barcode on As a result of this canny little trick I won, Marks & Spencer, HSBC and Waitrose who became huge clients - all for the sake of a label worth 3/5ths of FA!

In 2008 we had a recession and in three months I lost my three largest clients and that removed 60% of our turnover literally overnight. That reminded me of the 80/20 rule - never have 80% of your business from 20% of your clients!

I didn't worry, I simply got up off the floor, dusted myself down and looked at new products and found a great modular system I could sell to design and build exhibition stands.

We became one of the countries first design and build companies to use a modular system and business went bonkers again. I had by this time a sales team, admin team, accountant and my wife working with me.

Life was great and then COVID hit and literally overnight my business was shut down. Whilst my staff were being paid furlough, my wife and I got virtually nothing so I started another business. I used the vans we had and started a logistics business which with other lucky breaks added £250,000 from nothing into the bank during Covid.

Also during Covid I wanted a gadget for my bike so I taught myself 3D modelling, bought a printer and designed the light holder and away I went. All of the local shops couldn't believe I had invented something that solved such a simple problem and I thought f-it, I'll have a go on eBay. I then introduced holders for AirTags and alike and that business now sells around the world everyday. I can't name it, but it's out there. To date I've sold best part of 10,000 individual 3D printed bits to virtually every country and I'm still staggered how it happened.

My main business came back after Covid and thankfully we survived. This year we are looking to have our best ever, I'll be honest during the dark days of lockdown I was depressed and thought my world was coming to an end (which is one reason I had to leave PH). I network well, we are exhibiting our 3D products again at the largest bike show in the UK next week (last year we were voted in the top 5 products at the show) and as a result of having a stand at that show and making good friends with the organisers we are also building a number at that show at that same time.

A long story, I'm sorry it went on for so long, can I say why I started my business? Not really, everything was against me and I just thought, let's give it a go!

My recipe for success could be down to:

Hard work
Never believing anything other than I would be OK
Hard work
Living and breathing work
Hard work
Make mistakes and learn from them
Hard work
Working smart
Hard work
Networking
Hard work
Being organised
Hard work

And probably a bit of luck here and there.

I wish you the best for the future.

Edited to add and whatever you do:

Look at your competitors, see what they are doing and don’t be afraid to copy but do it better
Do the job to the best of your abilities, aim to be the best every time
Respond to customers and clients as quickly as possible - it’s not uncommon I speak by email to people at 4am sometimes!
Work smart, anyone can be a busy fool
Don’t expect the earth, fast cars and a big house immediately, if it’s going to happen it will take time and effort

Finally, the amount of good luck and success you have is generally directly proportional to the effort made

Edited by HoHoHo on Thursday 13th April 14:48

Edited by HoHoHo on Thursday 13th April 14:57

I remember reading your posts on the Covid threads about how you were worried about your exhibition business. Amazing to read you've found such success post Covid.

Many congratulations and wish you all the best. Great story.

[NDA]

HoHoHo said:

Hi

I don't post on here very often now however I can contribute my 2p worth, warts and all if it's of any interest:

Really interesting story - not a small amount of resilience too!

It is often the case that a shove/push from unexpected quarters can nudge someone to starting on their own - 'needs must' kind of thing.

I had a fairly large business for many years that I ultimately sold. I am now a business of one as a consultancy - although a Ltd company, it's not really a proper business, it's just me charging out my time for NED/advice work.

It might not be applicable in the OP's business but I would say always make sure your numbers are underwritten by one or two clients. Starting from zero with no clients would be daunting.

[HoHoHo]

RiseUp said:

I remember reading your posts on the Covid threads about how you were worried about your exhibition business. Amazing to read you've found such success post Covid.

Many congratulations and wish you all the best. Great story.

Appreciate the comment, thanks

I still have my old order book and my first invoice safe and sound, can’t believe it’s 26 years ago!

£4674.50 GP month one……not a bad start The zeros are because I think I struck a deal with a supplier to sell on commission (I think, I don’t remember if I’m honest). That just have ended fairly quickly though, it’s not a memory I have.





When I think now what was happening in my life at that point, I’m amazed I didn’t fall apart!

And yes, Covid were very dark days for me - I have bad memories as do a lot of business owners

Another to tip……save more than you spend, you never know when it’s going to rain and between March 2020 and September 2021 we had a bloody monsoon!